Where within a person do feelings of self-worth reside? Do they live in the belly, in the heart, or in the mind? Do they exist on this mortal plain, or do they rush in from beyond our ken, coalescing out of the formless aether when needed? If they can be learnt or forgotten, is there a best time in one’s life to learn or forget them? Do they arise within us via the same process that provides a flying animal such as a duck with the instinctual knowledge of how to fly - even if it has never been taught how to fly by its parent or witnessed another animal in flight?

This author, whose sense of self-worth was badly stunted by external forces at a young age, has been working to peel back the layers of ersatz self-worth accumulated over the years in order to determine if they should be kept, or replaced. So deeply embedded in plastic and subtle membranes is self-worth that his struggle is become a daily Sisyphean task.

Crucial allies in this task have been family, friends, and the lessons imparted by Viktor Frankl in his book ‘Man’s Search For Meaning.’ He wishes to express profound gratitude to all allies mentioned above, as well as to That Which Cannot Be Named.